There’s something amiss in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and sooner or later — it could very well lead to the cinematic world’s proper introduction of Ghost Rider. After an 18-month break from any and all content from Marvel Studios, the first two episodes of WandaVision debuted during the twilight hours of Friday morning, bringing the beloved MCU back into the households of fans around the world. Though the premiere gave fans just a tease of what to expect over the next eight weeks, the two episodes released did give fans plenty of mystery to speculate on, something that’s about to lead us down a Hellfire-fueled rabbit hole.
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Full spoilers up ahead for the first two episodes of WandaVision! Proceed with caution if you’ve yet to tune in.
Even though WandaVision scored a PG rating and the first two episodes were based on mid-century sitcoms, there was still an unsettling tone throughout as Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) slowly became more and more aware of what was unfolding around her. This finally comes to a head toward the end of the second episode — aptly titled “Episode 2” by the House of Ideas — when the show’s eponymous duo catches a mysterious beekeeper crawling out of a manhole in front of their house. Only here, the beekeeper has been surrounded by hundreds of bees buzzing about — a VFX change from what we’ve seen in the trailers between the final project.
Upon seeing the beekeeper, Wanda has an epiphany of sorts and reverses time — or reality — to take her and Vision back to the moments immediately prior. It’s here where the sitcom world slowly begins to gain color in a plot twist that’d make Pleasantville blush.
Though the beekeeper has nothing to do with Ghost Rider proper, it provides an excellent look at the distance Marvel Studios are willing to go here tonally, and how some more adult themes can find their ways to Disney+.
By now, you’re asking yourself, “So how does Johnny Blaze (or Danny Ketch) tie into this all?”
The internet has been abuzz speculating on one of Agnes’ (Kathryn Hahn) lines during the second episode. A contentious meeting between neighbors leads to a line where the “nosy neighbor” jokes about the devil being among them. The moment’s a bit on-the-nose and could be nothing more than a jest, but say we take it literally.
Mephisto serving as the big bad in WandaVision makes sense for several reasons, most of which you’ll read through the next week. But the villain’s inclusion — one who serves as the primary “devil” of the Marvel Comics mythos — would at least establish the groundwork of Hell actually being a realm in the MCU. With that, naturally, you’d then have access to Hellfire and, in turn, Ghost Rider — providing a bit of credence to the online rumors suggesting a Ghost Rider project is in active development at Marvel.
On the flip side, it could all be a red herring and we’re all just attaching ourselves to a throwaway line meant entirely to be the joke. If that’s the case, perhaps the big bad of the series will instead be Nightmare, Blackheart, or another mystical character.
The first two episodes of WandaVision are now streaming on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.
What other surprise characters do you see popping up in WandaVision? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!
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